Iron County register., 1887-10-20
AUNT HANNAH"
The One Occasion When She
ssDidn't Mind.'


defined position. and sometimes
fancy mine must be the good Great
ure" of the family.
It is large and scattered family.
and gives ample scope for every kind
Of usefulness. Time was when I was
the spoilt child of it; but years have
hurried on. and the bright promise
was early nipped in the bud by the
death of my dear parents. privileged
to pass away within twenty-four hours
of each other.
As left the church-yard where the
sun shone softly down upon their un-
divided grave. and strove to realize
that henceforward those true and ten
der hearts were sharers in the glorious
sunshine of Eternal Day, looked into
the cold, hard face of my eldest
brother and knew that the days of
sympathetic love in my old home were
over aud done with for me. Robert
was not unkind or unjust. but SYM
pathy was quality utterly wanting in
his composition. and If he were just
and fair toward others. what on earth
could others want more. in Heaven's .
name? he would ask impatiently.
All, well, Justice is much; but love
and sympathy. what are they not
worth in all our lives, from the highest
lady in the land, whose sympathy
never fails in time of need. down to
the little sehool-child, who will spare
a few precious crumbs of cake for the
hungry robin in it's path?
14har hrofbarS apI cfSta,.c r-ora
all married and scattered over the
world, and Roberts eldest children
were but few years younger than
myself. the youngest of their father S
generation.
For some years lived on in the dear
old home and strove to be of what use
/ could. No one scrupled to make use
of me, am bound to say, and by de-
grees the family motto seemed to be:
..Aunt Hannah will do it She won't
mind"
Did she minde Sometimes 1 think
she did
The young ones were growing up,
and to them my few additional years
constituted. if not old age. at least ad-
vanced middle age. Little did they
think. while their nimble feet whirled
to Aunt Hannah's playing q could
play, and for many reasons-e1hS my
heart into doing my best tor their
dance musie)-little did they think. /
say, how my own shoes were twitch-
ing under the piano with a longing to
be given chance of a turn myself
One night overheard slim young
guardsboy murmur to my niece:
But 1 say, won't your aunt be
tired. playing SO long?"
"TiredP Oh. no, she won't mind.
responded Edith '.She likes it."
1 bent my head over the piano and
culped down the choke that almost
oyerpowered me as steadily marked
time in that valse tune of many
memories. Up before the eyes of my
memory rose that evening seven years
before. upon which my future life had
seemed to hinge 1 was twenty then.
and had been for two years an inmate
-ofmy brothers home. was twenty
seven now. and was still considered
too young to have a home of my own
nv NV elder relations, too old for
Young ladv amusements by the young
er generation.
So 1 steadily played on. and my
thoughts foated away backward to
that evening have limited at saw
once more small. dark-haired girl,
with hazel eyes and far-away look
in them. and over her bent a broad
.shouIdred, curly-headed young giant
whose voice trembled rs he said:
.-God bless you. darling little Hannah;
Twill come tomorrow and see Robert
and you.
But oh. Mike. Mike. why did you
never come-never. never, and the
next thing that heard was that you
had rone to India the following week,
and the year after that You were mar
ried. And ON, what had done, what
had done, to deserve such blow as
this?
Had / misunderstood him? Good
beavensI had shown that l thought
he loved me, and he had meant moth
ing and taken fright, and done the
most merciful thing he could by van
ishing from out my lifea
NIGHT and day wearied myself to
think out this agonizing puzzle. Speak
10 Robert I dared not What could ne
think of girl who had admitted she
loved some one. when the some one
had too clearly not wished for her
loyea